The Terror within the Heart
by GreenSamuraiAdam
Summary: The Heartless are gone. But a shocking evil remains. The sad background of a young, new Keyblade Master and the struggle which he'll undertake are told in this fanfic. The hero is new, and the villains may surprise you.


The Terror Within the Heart

Kingdom Hearts fanfic

_The Heartless were gone_._ The Keyblade Masters destroyed them all_._ The Keyblade Masters became bringers of chaos_._ With their separate Keyblades, they destroyed worlds in a worse way than the Heartless_._ Normally, the Keyblades should have left them in their evil ways, but the Masters' hearts were so strong, they forced the Keyblades to stay_._ Only a very few Masters remained good_._ They tried, with little success, to free the worlds and restore order and balance_.

_This is a story about Keyblade Master Jono, a lone teenager of Hollow Bastion_.

I sat at the café in Traverse Town, drinking my cold beverage in peace. I thought about my past and the destruction that reined the worlds. So much had happened.

I was born in Hollow Bastion and raised by my grandfather. My parents named me Jono before they died and gave me to him. Grandfather always read me bedtime stories of Keyblades and Keyblade Masters, and how great they were. It was almost funny how nice he could be when he read to me, because almost every other time, he was quite a tough guy. Grandfather trained me everyday, waking me up so early in the morning. That was when he got tough. He trained me as a samurai, saying I may one day need the skill. I never believed him. I just enjoyed our time together, since he was all I had. I even created a special form of fighting based on my bedtime stories for him, called the Key Arts. Grandfather told me that if I ever came into a Keyblade, they would make fine abilities. So, I kept working on the Key Arts without a Keyblade. Grandfather gave me a katana and continued my training, even as I turned fourteen.

It was then that the Heartless came. People began losing their hearts, and eventually, the world was in ruin. My grandfather was lost, but several others and myself escaped in a gummi ship to Traverse Town. I spent time there perfecting what I could of the Key Arts. One day, though, I saw a boy carrying a large key, a Keyblade. He was a Keyblade Master, out to stop the Heartless. He told me that only those with strong hearts could wield Keyblades, and only a few were chosen. With that, I searched the town hoping it held a Keyblade that would accept me, and it being the only place I could go. I failed in my search. That is, until I was attacked by Heartless. My katana could not hurt them, though. They began to swallow me in darkness with ease. But I saw a light in the darkness. I reached out for it...and it became a key. The darkness disappeared and I had my own Keyblade in hand. My adversaries quickly fell to me...my Keyblade. I named it Katetsu. When I examined it, I noticed it was a long black weapon and the handle was a half circle. A katana and the word "The Samurai" were inscribed on it.

I had finally gotten my Keyblade. However, it had been so long since I met that one Keyblade Master, I did not know his quest had been nearing its end. By the time I was able to leave Traverse Town, the Heartless were defeated. Yet in the process, the Keyblade Masters --- Sora (the one I met earlier), Riku, Mickey, and a few others --- became corrupted. Long story short, worlds were wasted.

I reviewed those thoughts as I drank my beverage. The cool breeze of the night was relaxing...it almost made me forget my troubles. It blew through my messy brown hair and blew my black raincoat into me. I felt normal...the world felt at peace. I didn't want it to end.

"Watch out!!" the café owner suddenly yelled. I turned and watched him duck under his counter. The rest of the patrons, as well as anyone else in the vicinity ran out of the First District as fast as they could. A Firaga spell was cast at the counter, coming right past my calm white face. It set counter aflame, and the owner scurried from it, looking scared as hell. And amongst all that, I heard laughter...the laughter of three very famous Keyblade Masters.

"Jono! Have we come at a bad time?" one voice asked mockingly. I stood up and put five munny on my table, just in case the proprietor decided to return.

"No...I was done with my drink anyways. Still up to the destruction, huh?" I asked. My opponents stared at me and I turned to stare back.

"Yes...is that so wrong?" the shortest Master said. I laughed lightly. What an ass.

"I can't believe how badly you three changed. You all helped to stop the Heartless...Sora, Riku, Mickey," I replied. The three Masters wore raincoats exactly like mine, but they kept their hoods up. It never mattered...everyone knew who they were. The three slowly unzipped their raincoats and threw them off.

"The Heartless were nothing...they were weak beasts," the tallest Master, Riku said.

"Our hearts were too strong. Now we the power to do what the Heartless could not," the next one, Sora continued.

"Will you join or be hunted like all the other good Keyblade Masters?" the shortest Master, Mickey Mouse finished. I eyed them viciously.

"I guess I'm the hunted. Keyblade Masters like us have such talent...we're so special. Why use it like you choose?" I replied. The Masters before me only stared. They had changed...they once had bright, smiling faces. All they had now were faces of death, cold and unfeeling. Sora wore black and yellow instead of red and white. Riku changed simply to a solid black and white outfit. And Mickey...well, Mickey chose to wear nothing but gray all over. It may not have seemed odd...but such changes were frightening, especially the faces.

"Fine, Jono, it's your time," Sora said. He drew his Keyblade, the Kingdom Key. It sparkled almost as he drew it. The blade and handle were gray, but everything else was yellow. The key chain seemed to still have the Royal Seal.

"You will join the Heartless," Riku growled. He held up his Keyblade, the Evil Keyblade. Like the Kingdom Key, its handle and blade were all one color, but those colors were black, while everything else was red. It seemed to pulsate with evil.

"It will be slow and painful," Mickey bragged. He also held a Kingdom Key, but the colors were inverted from Sora's version. I found it rather fitting...inverted colors for his inverted personality.

"Right...maybe," I chuckled. I drew my Keyblade, Katetsu. A smile crept up on me...was I looking forward to a battle with them?

"I don't know how Riku and Mickey escaped Kingdom Hearts, and I don't know how you Masters kept your Keyblades, or even why you turned evil...but I will stop you," I vowed. They laughed somewhat. The thought of me stopping them was obviously amusing.

Their laughter stopped suddenly. I could see fire in their eyes...they were ready. So was I. I held Katetsu up in a defensive position, ready for an assault. Riku charged forward, his Keyblade aimed straight at me. Mickey and Sora ran to the side, disappearing from my view. I dodged Riku's charge, turned, and blocked a sneak attack from Mickey. Sora ran in my direction, jumped, and attempted to impale me. I shoved Mickey away from me into a wall, and then rolled under a table in the café. Sora smiled as he landed. He aimed his Keyblade at me and casted Blizzaga. I quickly shoved Katetsu's blade through the table and pulled it down, blocking Blizzaga. The table froze, so I jumped from behind it, aiming a slash at Sora. He held up the Kingdom Key and knocked me back. I made a grunting sound as I lay on my back, but Riku and Mickey soon came into my view. Their Keyblades came down on me, but I used mine to block. They forced downward. I knew I couldn't hold them back for long. I ran my hand along the back of my Keyblade and activated a Key Art, Deflect. The blade glowed and shoved forward, effectively knocking back Mickey and Riku. My Keyblade quickly swung down on my command and tripped up Riku. He fell and dropped his Evil Keyblade. I turned to block another sneak attack by Mickey. It was then I remembered Sora. Shoving Mickey's assault aside, I ran from the recovering Riku and Mickey, knowing Sora was close.

"Force!" I heard a voice yell. I suddenly felt a Graviga spell crushing me. Katetsu left my hand and hit the ground...I soon joined it. I couldn't get out of the crushing gravity, but I could see three pairs of feet coming my way.

"No...," I muttered in defeat. I could only hope the spell would lift soon...my Keyblade was so close, yet I couldn't reach it. My enemies just chuckled eerily...I almost shivered. I could hear their Keyblades being raised in unison, ready to strike and kill me. My hand began reaching for my Keyblade under the force...I had a plan. My strength was leaving me. I had no idea Graviga was so long-lasting coming from Sora. But I managed to grab Katetsu. I put my plan into action. With the strength I had under the remaining Graviga spell, I slid my Keyblade into Sora's large feet. Luckily, the spell had weakened some so I could do that.

"Whoa!" Sora yelped as the Keyblade hit his feet, causing him to jump. Riku and Mickey looked at their stunned ally. Graviga finally dissipated, so I dove and retrieved my Katetsu, just before Sora landed. I chuckled as the three Masters glared at me.

"Guess I surprised you," I joked. The wind blew calmly as I stood up and turned to my enemies. I held out my Keyblade in attack position and grinned.

"Triple Play," I said. Katetsu glowed like before and two more of myself appeared near me. Without my control, the clones and myself charged forward in a blur, and struck the Keyblade Masters. We stopped a few feet past them, and the clones dissipated. I turned around...Sora, Riku, and Mickey didn't move.

"Another Key Art...impressive," Riku uttered. I smiled and they collapsed. I could only glare at them in doubt. The Key Arts were powerful, but not _that_ powerful, especially considering that these three defeated hordes of Heartless. I slowly edged towards their motionless bodies, curious to see if I had really won. I bent over to Mickey and examined the oversized mouse. He was breathing softly, with closed eyes.

"You fool," he whispered. I gasped as I felt the dull end of two Keyblades strike my back. My body was forced over Mickey's body and I fell face first on the cold street. I got up slowly and turned to see Sora's Kingdom Key in my face.

"Stop," he said quietly. For the very few moments after he said that, my eyes widened in fear.

I don't know what happened during the time the Stop spell was in effect. I came to exactly where I was stopped. A young boy whom I never met before greeted me. He had seen the battle, and told me Riku was about to unlock my heart, but Sora stopped him. The boy said the Masters wanted to torment me further. I thanked him and left the First District. I sat on a bench in the Second District, pulled out my Keyblade, and examined it. The Keyblade Masters I fought left a scratch on it...they left a mark. I knew then I had a constant reminder of what I had to do. I sighed at this and let the gentle breeze blow and calm me again.

End...?

Written by Adam Kowalski.

Author notes: Hope you liked it. Please tell me what you think. Constructive criticism is welcome.

Sora, Riku, and Mickey are property of Disney. All else is Square-Enix's property.

Jono, the Key Arts title, the abilities it allows, and this story concept are property of Adam Kowalski, as I thought them up.

The Katetsu is also mine, but a certain person on a Kingdom Hearts Message Board created it for me (Wishing Star). A thanks goes out to him/her.


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